- YouTube agrees to pay $22M to the Trust for the National Mall.
- An extra $2.5M goes to groups like the American Conservative Union.
- Trump had sued after his removal following the January 6 riots.
- Settlement ends legal battles with Meta, X, and YouTube.
YouTube has settled a lawsuit filed by Donald Trump over his suspension from the platform. The company will pay $22 million to the Trust for the National Mall, a nonprofit group that supports the preservation of the National Mall and the planned White House State Ballroom project.
According to court records, another $2.5 million will be shared among other plaintiffs, including the American Conservative Union. The deal closes one of the last lawsuits Trump had launched against major social media firms.
Trump had argued that banning him after the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol violated his rights. Social media companies, however, maintained that their actions followed rules meant to stop violent or harmful content from spreading.
This move comes after Meta, which owns Facebook, settled for $25 million earlier in the year, and X (formerly Twitter) reached a reported $10 million agreement in February. Together, the three settlements bring Trump’s social media ban challenges to an end.
Most of the money from these settlements will go to charities and advocacy groups instead of directly to Trump. Legal experts believe the case could influence how public figures fight platform bans in the future. Critics, however, say the deals show how powerful leaders can negotiate with tech companies, raising questions about fairness and free speech online.
